Iginla obviously hasn’t requested a trade, nor has Feaster approached him about one. Trading Kiprusoff, meanwhile, would’ve left the Flames without an experienced starting goaltender and finding a replacement when there’s a dearth of available quality goalies this summer would’ve been extremely difficult.

While Bouwmeester’s name is still kicking around the off-season rumor mill, one gets the sense that if Feaster intended to move the 28-year-old blueliner, he would’ve done it earlier this summer, when teams had more cap space and a willingness to make deals.

Of course, that was prior to the Philadelphia Flyers losing Andrej Meszaros and Andreas Lilja to off-season surgeries; Matt Carle to Tampa Bay via free agency; and Chris Pronger to potential retirement as he continues to struggle through post-concussion symptoms.

It’s possible the Flyers or Red Wings will make a tantalizing offer for Bouwmeester (provided he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause), but Feaster would be hard-pressed to find a replacement who plays as many minutes as ‘J-Bo.’

If the Flames were rebuilding, there’s no question Bouwmeester would be a trade candidate. Given Feaster’s apparent reluctance to overhaul his roster, it now appears he’ll retain Bouwmeester, at least for one more season.

Rather than rebuild, Feaster instead made moves this summer to bolster his lineup, acquiring Dennis Wideman from the Washington Capitals and re-signing him to a long-term extension and inking free agent right winger Jiri Hudler to a four-year contract.

He also brought in former Kontinental League center Roman Cervenka as a replacement for the departed Olli Jokinen, plus there’s talk of trying Mike Cammalleri at center.

Feaster believes the Flames lineup merely needs to be tweaked, not overhauled. It remains to be seen if those tweaks are really what the Flames need. If not, Feaster won’t be able to postpone the inevitable through another off-season.

Rumor Roundup appears Monday-Friday only on thehockeynews.com. Lyle Richardson has been an NHL commentator since 1998 on his website, spectorshockey.net, and is a contributing writer for Eishockey News, Kukla's Korner and The Guardian, Charlottetown.